Letter on the Committee Draft of the Home Star Act of 2010

The Honorable Henry Waxman
Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Joe Barton
Ranking Member
Committee on Energy and Commerce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Barton:

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the world's largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector, and region, supports the committee draft of the "Home Star Act of 2010." The draft provides a solid framework for a worthwhile, incentive-based program that will create American jobs while saving energy.

The home retrofit industry is a uniquely American industry: the vast majority of windows, doors, and insulation for these retrofits are manufactured in the United States. Since 2006, this industry has been decimated, with over 650,000 jobs lost. The incentives provided by the Home Star Act will create good, living-wage jobs for American workers, while providing homeowners the ability to make a substantial dent in their overall energy costs.

Most of the Chamber's suggested improvements to the Senate draft of the bill have been addressed in the House version. However, one remains: the Home Star Act must be modified to ensure that the program recognizes qualified training and certification by the Home Builders Institute (HBI), an existing certification program run in conjunction with the Department of Labor that provides substantial training for weatherization and energy efficiency upgrades in existing homes. Such a change would lead to even greater job creation and energy savings.

The Chamber hopes the Committee will work to make the remaining improvement suggested by this letter, and stands ready to work with Congress on the Home Star Act of 2010.

Sincerely,

R. Bruce Josten

Cc: The Members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce